Snakes and Swans

Today the Prince and I went to the Nelson Lake Marsh Nature Preserve in Batavia, Illinois. I posted several photos, which you can see by looking at the flickr sidebar on the right side of the blog. (yes, you actually have to leave the confines of your RSS reader and actually come to the page, sorry!!)

We saw lots of geese (not too exciting), as well as two pretty swans (they were too far away to get a good photo). We also saw a water snake, which I was able to get a picture of (it is the fourth photo down on the sidebar). We also saw several cranes and a couple different species of colorful birds. I really wished I had a bird watchers guide so that I could identify them all. We also heard several frogs, but I never actually saw one. I think I sort of saw one swimming away after the Prince saw it jump off a log.

A lot of the foliage at the preserve reminded me of the woods behind my parents' house; like what we used to call "umbrella plants." Not sure what the real name is, though. It is the top photo on my sidebar.

The preserve has a mowed down grassy path that goes in a loop around the marsh. The website lists it at three miles. There were lots of opportunities to be a little more adventurous and take the dirt path down closer to the action. It was a lot of fun and the weather was perfect. I would recommend the trip to anyone in the Chicago area.